MEG says local methylone appears to be from China

PEKIN — A Pekin man faced up to seven years in prison for importing an illegal synthetic drug from China in a package that was tracked to his door by federal Department of Homeland Security agents.

It was Kevin Gann’s first offense, however, and he will serve a three-year probation term with strict conditions. The sentence was imposed this week with his guilty plea in Tazewell County Circuit Court to possessing a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Gann, 38, was among about 15 people arrested in a four-county central Illinois area since late last year for allegedly purchasing or selling methylone, the key drug contained in products that sell under names including Molly, bath salts, Ecstasy and MDMA.

One of those defendants, Joel Price, 28, of East Peoria has been charged with selling an ounce of suspected methylone to a buyer working with narcotics investigators. He’s next scheduled to appear in court June 23 on a charge of delivery of a controlled substance.

While now illegal, methylone remains available through the Internet from laboratories in China, said David Briggs, director of the Peoria Multi-County Narcotics Enforcement Group (P-MEG) that works in Tazewell, Peoria, Woodford and Knox counties.

“The stuff we’re dealing with we believe is coming from China,” Briggs said. “It’s making a comeback” in P-MEG’s enforcement area after a period of general absence.

Methylone, also known as a designer drug, comes in powder-based levels of widely varying degrees. Its effects can range from hallucinations, paranoia and panic attacks to death, according to studies cited by federal agents investigating the drug’s presence in the nation.

Authorities based on the East Coast in September announced the arrests of 54 people across 21 states through investigation into shipments of methylone and other drugs from China. They reported two deaths from methylone in New York City last year.

In March, federal Homeland Security agents told Pekin police they had intercepted a package from China containing about 9 grams of methylone that was addressed to Gann. The agents had opened the package and equipped it with an alarm system and GPS tracking device to reveal when and where the package would be opened.

Gann was arrested when he accepted and opened the package at his home at 611 Bacon St.

He said he had been receiving packages of synthetic drugs from China and selling them in the city, according to court records.